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Phantom Stranger
History (Submitted by Four-Eyes) Disclaimer No one knows where this guy comes from. Popular belief among occult scholars is that he himself has forgotten, having cast some powerful effect on himself or having made some powerful pact to conceal his identity. But there are theories... First Tale: The Fallen One tale postulates that the Stranger was the eighth archangel (named either Dumah or Azrael) who sided with neither Heaven nor Hell during Lucifer's rebellion and instead became the Archangel of Death, watching over the souls of those who perished in the battle. When Lucifer struck down the archangel Raguel, the Presence forbade Dumah/Azrael from accepting Raguel's soul, but yet the Archangel of Death did anyway and so was cast out of Heaven and stripped of his purpose, thus condemned to find new meaning for his existence. Second Tale: The Fool Another theory proposes the Stranger was originally a prophet of the Presence who called out to the Presence for protection from men or demons who sought to harm him. When the Presence sent an Archangel to protect him, the prophet was spared a grisly end. However, upon returning home, he found his wife and child murdered. He demanded that the Presence bring them back but when an Archangel came to tell him that could not happen for their souls had already transitioned, the prophet killed himself out of spite. Angered by the prophet's behavior, the Presence brought him back to life and cursed him with immortality for his insubordination. Third Tale: The Follower In a variation of the second, the Stranger was a follower of a prophet of the Presence who betrayed the prophet for a modest sum of silver and so was cursed with immortality. Fourth Tale: The Friend Another theory claims that the Stranger is simply a Lord of Order born without a name or purpose. He seeks only to aid the Lords of Order and any others who need guidance or mentoring. Fifth Tale: The First Another claims that the Stranger was Adam, the First Mortal Man created by the Presence, husband to Lilith and Eve, father to Cain and Abel, and former resident of the Garden of Eden. Fashioned from clay and given the breath of life by the Presence, Adam gained great cosmic power by eating forbidden fruit at the center of the Garden after being tricked by his first wife, Lilith. As a result of this power, Adam never felt at ease living among mortals, feeling like "a stranger in a strange land". When his first wife Lilith seduced and cursed his sons Cain and Abel, pitting them against each other as an act of revenge against him, Adam chose to fight the chaos which had corrupted Lilith and devoted himself to the occult, eventually becoming a Lord of Order in the fight against the Lords of Chaos.Network Files: Phantom Stranger Supplemental Reports * (Submitted by Four-Eyes) Interestingly, for a Lord of Order, the Stranger has a dangerous affection for chaos, infernal magic, infernal beings, and cthonic power. Regardless of which origin of his you subscribe to, all of them account for this. Even in modern times, the Stranger has shown himself susceptible to dangerous liaisons with agents of chaos, such as his long standing affair with Tala. Threat Assessment Resources * Lord of Order: Through it is uncertain if a true Lord of Order or simply a being of comparable power and compatible motives, the Stranger possesses the same (or similar enough) abilities to other Lords of Order. ** Immortality: The Stranger claims to have lived through thousands of years and seen empires rise and fall all without having been affected by time or aging. He has also survived attacks that would kill mortals, such as having his heart removed and being atomized. Interestingly, he can die - but even death seems unable to stop him as he returns to life within twelve hours of his death. ** Magic: The Stranger almost never uses spoken spells or magical rituals more complex than a seance or a circle of entrapment. However, his magic is said to know no bounds, displaying cosmic levels of power. ** Dimensional Travel: The Stranger can travel at will among the magical dimensions, including all realms of the Void, all subsidiary realities, all intrinsic fields, and upon the Murums themselves. He knows the paths to the Oculus Apex and has seen something called the Tapestry and spoken it's caretaker, an elusive being known as the Writer of Fate. ** Magical Blast: The Stranger can fire energy bolts of great force using Supernal, Eldritch, or Infernal energies, or any other elemental force he so chooses. This is done without speaking a spell or using any relics. ** Cosmic Awareness: The Stranger can see spirits and astral travelers. Likewise, he can perceive events happening at a great distance from himself, whether the distance lies in gaps of space or time. ** Dispel: By using his own magic, the Stranger can dispel magic and sorcery with wave of his hands, except in the rare instance of magic being powerful than his own. The Stranger is especially adept at magic which dispels mental control, illusion, and deception. ** Oneiromancy: He can send dreams of omen, warning, or information. He can also directly appear the Dreaming and manipulate it's fabric like a lucid dreamer would, through he claims he is bound by ancient laws to do so carefully so as not to anger the Lord of Dreaming. ** Mental Awareness: The Stranger says he is not a psychic but using magic he can mimic certain psionic abilities such as telepathy. ** Teleportation: The Stranger can mysteriously vanish and appear at will. He makes no sound or leaves any form of disturbance as he enters and exits planes in such manner. * Storytelling: The Stranger views the universe as a large narrative. He often narrates what he sees or does. He may refer to people as characters and so forth. He is an avid collector of stories and an incredible storyteller. * Occultist: The Stranger has keen insight into cosmic, magical, and mystical forces. Weaknesses * Non-Direct Interaction: Due to some ancient laws, the Stranger is prohibited from being too involved in events directly. He must find champions to carry out much of his agenda and even then must provide them with cryptic guidance. * Vulnerability to Magic: He can be harmed by sufficiently powerful magic or cosmic energy. He even seems to have a certain addiction to Infernal energy. * Talkative: The Stranger likes the sound of his own voice a little too much. Analytics * Physicality: 4 - Expert / Enhanced * Occult: 8 - Paragon * Weapons: 4 - Expert / Enhanced * Experience: 8 - Paragon * Ranged: 8 - Paragon * Strategy: 4 - Expert / Enhanced Trivia and Notes Trivia * The Phantom Stranger has a Threat Assessment of 330, marking him as a Cataclysmic Threat. Notes * Dinkley's supplemental report is a nod to Tala originating from Phantom Stranger comics. * His aliases Phillip Stark and Judas Iscariot are nods to New 52. Links and References * Appearances of Phantom Stranger * Character Gallery: Phantom Stranger Category:Characters Category:Fourth-Wall Breakers Category:Sentinels of Magic Members Category:Magic Category:Illusion Casting Category:Composite Character Category:Immortality Category:Lords of Order Members Category:Occultism Category:Teleportation Category:White Eyes Category:White Hair Category:Storytelling Category:Identity Unknown Category:Submitted by Four-Eyes Category:Vulnerability to Magic Category:Power Limitation Category:Cosmic Beings Category:Male Characters Category:Energy Projection Category:Gentlemen of Gehenna Category:Cataclysmic Threat Category:Addiction Category:Mental Illness